Crucifixion began as a Roman and Seleucid method of execution, a slow death by exposure and asphyxiation for the condemned tied or nailed to a wooden cross. This National Geographic film traces its use from roughly the 6th century BC through the Roman Empire, where it served as a public deterrent reserved largely for slaves, rebels, and enemies of the state, and follows its spread as far as Japan, where it was later used against convicted criminals and some Christians. The film gives particular attention to the death of Jesus of Nazareth as the crucifixion history remembers best, and to Emperor Constantine's decision in 337 AD to abolish the practice across the empire out of reverence for that death. It also traces how the method turned into the crucifix, the image of Christ on the cross that became a central symbol for Catholic, Orthodox, and Lutheran worship, while many Protestant traditions kept the bare cross instead. The film reads as much as an account of an execution method as of how that method became a religious icon.